A new approach to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the EU

REPLACE 2

REPLACE 2 represents a radical change to the way Female genital mutilation (FGM) is tackled in the EU, by developing a new approach that integrates individual behaviour change within a community-based approach (REPLACE 1, 2011). REPLACE 2 sees the return of the original REPLACE partners: Coventry University, FORWARD UK and FSAN (the Netherlands) and welcomes four new partners: CESIE (Italy), APF (Portugal), Gabinet (Spain) and International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University (Belgium). REPLACE 2, funded by Daphne III European Commission, will run for two years until 2015.

REPLACE 2 aims to improve the well-being of individuals and communities affected by FGM in the EU, with the direct beneficiaries of the project being young girls and women at risk of FGM. The project involves capacity building and knowledge transfer so that all partner organisations and communities involved can acquire new skills to address FGM using the REPLACE Behaviour Change Framework.

Findings from the successful REPLACE 1, illustrate that the Somali and Sudanese communities hold different belief systems relating to FGM. Furthermore, there was a noticeable difference between the perceptions of the Dutch and UK participants in relation to the legislation addressing FGM and the wider expectations of continuing the practice. These insights were achieved by adopting a community-based participatory approach in the REPLACE 1 project. Therefore, REPLACE 2 will build upon this methodological approach in order to identify the particular barriers at both the community and individual level that prevent the cessation of FGM in additional affected communities, such as the Senegalese, Gambian and Guinea Bissauan residing in the EU.

REPLACE 2 consists of two stages that will run concurrently for the first 12 months of the project.

Stage 1:

FORWARD UK and FSAN will conduct an evaluation of the current REPLACE Cyclic Framework with Somali and Sudanese communities in the UK and Somali community in the Netherlands.

Utilising the REPLACE Cyclic Framework, FORWARD UK and FSAN will target a particular behaviour that is aimed at moving the community closer to the goal of ending FGM.

FORWARD UK and FSAN will work to develop and evaluate an intervention targeting the identified behaviour through a series of community based workshops.

Stage 2:

CESIE, APF and Gabinet will engage with communities to conduct capacity building and identify communities’ readiness for change regarding ending FGM.

CESIE, APF and Gabinet will collect qualitative information from FGM affected communities including Senegalese, Gambian and Guinea Bissauan, by recruiting members from these communities to work as community-based researchers.

This information will inform understanding of the commonalities and differences regarding the belief systems held by FGM affected communities. It will also inform further intervention development based on the REPLACE approach with these communities.

REPLACE2

This publication has been produced with the financial support of the DAPHNE III Programme of the European Commission.
The contents of this publication are the soul responsibility of REPLACE2 and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.